“Within rail there are so many different roles”
“Within rail there are so many different roles you can do...and there is absolutely no reason why all those options are not there for women."
Railways in the UK have a glorious past and an exciting, fast-evolving future – Anna Gray is fascinated by the former and proud to be part of latter.
Anna is currently on secondment as a Fleet Asset Manager at Derby-based Porterbrook which owns about a quarter of the UK’s rolling stock and leases this out to train operating companies like Chiltern and Cross Country. It is a role which offers many challenges: principally matching up that evolving future to a rail infrastructure which was mostly built in the 19th century.
There is a fair bit of problem-solving…which makes it very rewarding.
“Our rail infrastructure was built in Victorian times so it's very tucked in with small bridges,” said Anna. “That means we are restricted by the size of trains and amount of track, and with freight and passengers sharing the same infrastructure, it can be very congested.
“I am in a large fleet team of forty which supports the depots and the operators, looking at new modifications, assessing risk and helping performance improvements. It's very challenging, but that's what engineering is - finding a solution to a problem, whether it's a strategic solution, a technical solution, a people solution or a project solution.”
By finding those solutions, Anna is helping to shape the future of rail, although she also still has an involvement in that wonderful history. She has volunteered on Talyllyn Steam Railway, in Snowdonia since the age of six.
Her interest in rail was sparked very early and then stoked by an engineering degree at the University of Birmingham.
“At school I really enjoyed maths and science and problem-solving,” said Anna. “I wasn’t sure specifically what I wanted to do but I knew I liked the challenges of finding solutions to problems. I did a Mechanical Engineering degree and Masters at Birmingham and with the Masters I did an industrial placement which was really helpful. Degree study involves a lot of theory so it was great to see that theory applied in practice. Porterbrook offered me a graduate role and I loved it and my career has grown from there.”
Though based in Derby, Porterbrook also has a significant presence in Warwickshire. Since 2021, the company has run the 135-acre Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre near Stratford-upon-Avon, where it invested up to £75m in purchasing the site in 2024.
Anna has found the rail sector very welcoming with a vast array of opportunities open to all.
“Within rail there are so many different roles you can do,” she said. “There’s the structural side and the operational side and it opens up so many doors. There are so many options all the time and there is absolutely no reason why all those options are not there for women.
“It is still a little bit male-dominated but that’s because it has historically been that way. It is changing and that is great because the more women and the more people with diverse ethnicity and backgrounds we have in the industry the better: Everyone brings different perspectives. There are so many new things coming in, you can't just apply the traditional. The industry is evolving so rapidly that diversity of thought has never been more needed. The more diversity of thought you bring in, the better chance of findings solutions. We need more diversity.
“There is also a succession of women building careers in the sector and that’s another really good thing about the rail industry.”
Anna strongly recommends the sector as a potential career offering great opportunity and also camaraderie
“There is a lot of support and help available for people coming into the industry with organisations like Women in Rail and Young Rail Professionals,” she said. “They are great because members come from different companies but everyone gets together for socials, lectures and tours which bring people in the rail industry together.
“It’s been a big help. If you ever need support there are people out there in similar positions. Everyone is just so supportive of each other.”